MILAN - An Italian magazine ignored the protests of Britain's royal family to publish pictures of Prince William's pregnant wife Kate in a blue bikini on a private island.

The gossip magazine Chi, owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, defended its decision to splash pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge showing off her "rounded belly" by implying they were taken in public.

"It is not possible to talk about a breach of privacy when public personalities are photographed in a public, open place such as (a) beach, attended by bathers," Chi editor Alfonso Signorini said in an emailed statement.

The six-page insert headlined "Kate & William - Honeymoon for three" is not the first time Chi has earned the ire of the British royals. In September it published topless pictures of the duchess, who was known as Kate Middleton before she married a future king of England.

The images, which were condemned by William's office, St James's Palace, as a "clear breach of the couple's right to privacy", show the duchess walking on a beach on the island of Mustique with a visible "baby bump".

LONDON - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate feel "anger and disbelief" and are consulting French lawyers after a magazine Friday published topless pictures of her, a royal source told AFP.

"We now believe the photographs are genuine," the source said on condition of anonymity. "Their (William and Kate's) general feeling is anger and disbelief. We feel a red line has been crossed."

"In terms of next steps we are consulting with French lawyers as to what the options are."

The French version of Closer magazine printed photos on the front cover and inside on five pages of Catherine wearing just the bottoms of a black and white bikini while on holiday with William in Provence in the south of France.

The couple are currently in Malaysia on a tour to mark the diamond jubilee of William's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.